


you know i'll keep you in my locket

by starstrung



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, post-ME2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 20:23:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2322062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstrung/pseuds/starstrung
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After returning from the Omega-4 Relay, Shepard takes the Normandy to Nos Astra for repairs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you know i'll keep you in my locket

“We did it,” Miranda says. She leans her head against the bulwark of the cockpit, weariness showing in the way she slumps. Miranda rarely shows exhaustion, so this must mean she’s really tired. Shepard feels the same way.

“We survived the suicide mission,” Miranda continues. “I have to admit, even I didn’t think this far in advance. And I certainly didn’t count on turning on the Illusive Man.”

“Well, we can’t just float in space,” Shepard says. She had never let herself think it, but a part of her had always felt like the extra time she’d been given by Cerberus had to come to an end. It’s a bit of a shock that she’s still alive, but she has no intention of letting it go. There’s still a lot that she needs to do.

“Commander, I don’t think we should go anywhere without getting the Normandy patched up. I could use some shore leave too. Just saying,” Joker says, turning in his seat.

“Where do you want to go?” Miranda asks her.

Shepard considers it. Briefly, she remembers her conversation with Hackett. He had told her that once she finished this mission, she would have to come to Earth to answer for what she had done to the Batarian relay. But there are some things she needs to do first.

“Illium,” she says. “Nos Astra.”

Joker looks at her for a moment and smiles knowingly. Shepard stares back, daring him to make a point of it, but he just shrugs and turns back to his controls. “Illium it is.”

-

Shepard stays as long as she can to make sure the Normandy is in good hands before Miranda shoos her off. “Shepard, you’re practically dead on your feet. I can handle this.”

Shepard doesn’t argue the point, and leaves after thanking her. Most of the rest of the crew have left as well, taking advantage of the promise of shore leave after the ordeal they’ve had. The Normandy repairs will probably take at least a week. It’s a much needed rest.

It is raining in Nos Astra. Shepard leaves the space dock and the rain makes _plink, plink_ noises on her armor. Nos Astra’s signature pink lights are reflecting in the pools of water gathered in the streets. The air is thick and humid.

Shepard manages to hail a cab. She’s so tired that she has to think for a bit to remember the address of Liara’s apartment. But it comes to her, and soon she’s watching the city blur past.

She ends up getting wet anyway, making her way through the empty streets to Liara’s apartment. It’s not until she’s standing outside the door that she realizes that Liara might not even be here. She might be on the Shadow Broker’s ship, in which case Shepard came all this way for nothing. She’s wondering if she’ll have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight when the door slides open.

It’s Liara. Her eyes are red-rimmed and there are shadows under them that weren’t there the last time Shepard saw her. Liara gapes for a moment before pulling Shepard inside and hugging her tightly. Her cheek presses into the curve of Shepard’s neck, and Shepard shivers a little at the sudden warmth.

“Shepard, you’re completely soaked!” Liara says. Her hand goes to Shepard’s wet hair, pushing away the strands that had been plastered to her skin. Blatantly, Shepard realizes she’s probably dripping on Liara’s floor.

“Sorry,” Shepard says. “I wanted to see you.”

Liara shakes her head. “No, don’t apologize. I was worried about you. I only just heard you went through the Omega-4 Relay. But I didn’t get the news that you’d come back.”

“We only just got back. This was our first stop.”

“I see.” Liara smiles a little before looking worried again. “Shepard, you look exhausted. And you’re still in your armor. Here, let me help you.”

Shepard keeps herself from mentioning that Liara looks as tired as she does, and lets herself be led to the kitchen, where Liara makes her sit down on a chair.

“Now, let’s see if I remember how to do this,” Liara says. She kneels and detaches Shepard’s greaves, putting them on the floor beside her. She works her way up, removing each segment of Shepard’s armor with quick, effective movements.

When Liara removes the last shoulder guard, she rises and presses an open-mouthed kiss into Shepard’s neck. Shepard sighs and tilts her head to the side, letting Liara kiss beneath her ear, the side of her jaw, the hollow of her throat. Her lips still at the corner of Shepard’s mouth.

“You came back to me,” she says.

“I told you I would, didn’t I?” Shepard says. “I promised.”

Shepard leans forward and kisses Liara. She adjusts their positions so that Liara is sitting in her lap, and kisses her more deeply, until Liara makes a soft, pleased noise against her lips. Liara’s arms find their way around her shoulders and for a moment, Shepard is able to forget the horrors she witnessed on the Collector’s Base. A feeling of contentment settles in her bones, making her limbs heavy.

Liara must notice, because she pulls away with a smile. “We should sleep.”

Shepard feels like arguing, but from the way her eyelids are threatening to droop, she figures it’s probably best not to.

She takes a quick shower, washing away all the grime and sweat. Then, she crawls into bed beside Liara, falling asleep to the sensation of fingers gently combing through wet hair.

-

Her sleep is fitful and uneasy. She wakes up after a few hours, chest heaving as if she’s been running and fingers digging into the mattress like she’s trying to fire a pistol.

Shepard sits up with a sigh and looks down at Liara. In sleep, she looks young and unworried, like she should. It never fails to amaze her just how young Liara is, even though she’s still more than twice Shepard’s own age.

She may have seemed young and inexperienced when they first met, but after those two years that Shepard spent being painstakingly brought back to life by Cerberus, Liara doesn’t seem that way any longer. She speaks like an asari matriarch these days, and Shepard regrets that they live in a world where Liara had to age too quickly and that she hadn’t been there to keep it from happening.

She’s just about to try to go back to sleep, when Liara stirs beside her as if sensing the weight of her thoughts.

“Shepard,” Liara says, after seeing that she’s awake. She sits up.

“Can’t sleep?” Shepard asks.

“No,” Liara says, with a wry smile. She kisses Shepard, rising onto her knees and curling her fingers into Shepard’s hair. After that, it quickly turns from something gentle to something desperate, and instead of the heavy contentment she felt before, Shepard just wants to be lost in this, to be held so tightly she can forget where she ends.

Liara pins her down into the covers and there’s no tenderness in the way she bites at Shepard’s collarbone and rolls her nipple between her fingers with just slightly too much force. Liara doesn’t spend time mapping out her skin. Her eyes go burnished black and she _pushes_. Slots their minds together until there’s no room between them, not even in their thoughts. She makes Shepard’s heart beat too fast, and that’s how they both know that Shepard made it out of that Collector base alive.

The pressure is building too fast and Shepard doesn’t want to waste a moment of it. “I need you. Come on.” She finds herself babbling and she can’t stop. “Come on, come on, _come on_.”

Thankfully, Liara shuts her up with a hard kiss before slipping two fingers into her. She works them inside her with a devastating tempo until all the words are knocked right out of Shepard and the only thing she can do is gasp at the ceiling.

Neither of them do much talking after that.

-

“So, what are you doing in Nos Astra anyway?” Shepard asks. They are sitting in Liara’s kitchen, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. They keep finding ways to brush up against each other, and Shepard smiles every time Liara blushes. “I thought you’d be on the Shadow Broker’s ship.”

Liara takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m wrapping things up in my Nos Astra office. It would be suspicious if I simply dropped off the face of the planet, especially since there were people who knew I was going after the Shadow Broker. I’m trying to make it seem like I’m moving my base of operations to Thessia, pursuing some lead.”

“How’s Feron?” Shepard says.

Liara looks troubled. “He says he’s fine. He wants to work, so I sent him on a mission. Nothing too dangerous. He reported in yesterday.”

“I thought we could,” Shepard trails off.

Liara’s smile is teasing. “You thought we could what?”

Shepard shrugs. “I was thinking we should do something.”

“I have to admit, I didn’t do much sightseeing during my time here,” Liara says, looking thoughtful. “I’m not sure what there is to do.”

“We’ll figure something out.”

-

In the end, neither one of them is willing to do much exploring, so they take a cab to one of Nos Astra’s parks, and sit and watch the skyline. Like everything in the city, the park is elevated. It gives a great view of the passing skycars and the city’s web of walkways.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Liara says. “Just stopped and looked.”

Shepard nods. She’s been to so many worlds, some of them more beautiful than others, but she’s never stopped to take in the view.

“My mother would have liked this,” Liara says. Shepard turns away from the view to look at her. Liara rarely speaks to her about Benezia. “She was always trying to get me to sit still and take things in. But I was too impatient for her.”

“You still are,” Shepard says, fondly. “To be honest, I’m surprised you’ve sat here with me for so long. There aren’t any Prothean artifacts here or anything.”

“Oh, stop,” Liara laughs, bumping her shoulder playfully. “You’re one to talk, Shepard. You never stop, do you?” Her eyes turn distant as they watch the skyline. “Even death didn’t stop you. You got right back up and on to the next adventure.”

Shepard doesn’t know what to say to that. So she leans her head on Liara’s shoulder and together they watch the city.

-

They are trading lazy kisses on Liara’s couch when Shepard’s omni-tool goes off. She takes a look at the comm number and immediately sits up. “It’s from the Alliance,” she explains. She hastily combs her fingers through her disheveled hair and straightens her clothes before answering the call.

It’s Hackett. “Shepard. I read the brief. Looks like there were some pretty gruesome things going on in that Collector base. I was glad to hear you made it back in one piece.”

“Thank you, sir,” Shepard says.

Hackett looks hesitant. “Now that you’re done with your mission, it’s going to be harder to delay the people back on Earth. I need you to turn yourself in as soon as you can. Otherwise, I’ll have to send people to bring you in. I’m sorry, Commander.”

Shepard is careful not to let any consternation show on her face. She had told Hackett that she would answer for what she did to the Batarian relay, and she had meant it. Across from her, Liara looks stricken. “I understand, sir,” she says. “But the Normandy’s in no shape to travel back to Earth. It’ll be a week for repairs to be finished.”

Hackett looks regretful. “I’m afraid we don’t have that long. The Normandy can finish her repairs. But you’ll need to book passage on another ship.”

Shepard’s fingernails dig into the palms of her hands. She’s not even being given the dignity of returning to Earth in her own ship. “Yes, sir,” she makes herself say.

Hackett gives her one long look, as if he can see through her front. “Hackett out.”

As soon as she ends the call, Liara rises from the couch and walks upstairs without a word. Shepard swipes a hand across her face, trying to make plans. She’ll need to contact Miranda and tell her what’s happening. Joker and Dr. Chakwas will want to come back with her to Earth. She doesn’t know what will happen to the rest of the crew. She might never see them again.

It was a mistake thinking she could take a break, for just one minute.

She sends out her messages and books passage on a merchant ship heading to Earth the next morning. Then she gets up and goes after Liara. She finds her sitting on the ground by her desk, surrounded by datapads.

“When do you leave?” Liara asks, when she hears her approaching. Her voice is carefully neutral, and Shepard can’t tell what she’s thinking, which is probably the point. She lost the ability to read Liara a long time ago. And now she might not get a chance to learn again.

“Tomorrow morning,” Shepard says.

Liara looks up from the datapads. She’s smiling. There’s nothing in that smile from the wide-eyed archaeologist on Therum. “I could make you a new identity. I could help you disappear. Not even the Alliance would be able to find you. You could be one of my agents.”

Shepard knows that Liara is being serious, despite the smile. She lets herself consider it for one second. But she already knows her answer. “Thanks for the offer, Liara. But I have to do this.”

“Why?” Liara says, rising to her feet. Her smile is gone. Tendrils of blue energy curl around her, making the air between them shimmer. “You’ve done so much for these people. You defeated Saren, you fought the geth, you _died_ for them. What more can you owe them?”

“You know it doesn’t work like that,” Shepard says. She feels herself getting angry. She knows that Liara is just upset that she’s leaving, but this isn’t making anything easier. “You know I have to leave.”

“I do know. You always have to leave, don’t you? You always have to jump back into the thick of things.”

“I offered to take you with me,” Shepard snaps. “You could have come with me, but you didn’t.”

“That was different. I couldn’t just leave and hop back on the Normandy like nothing had changed. Like those two years hadn’t happened. Things weren’t that simple.” Liara looks at her. “What would you have done?”

Shepard doesn’t answer. They both know that she can’t blame Liara for not joining her.

“It would be easier if we could just be a little more selfish, huh?” Shepard says. She wishes the galaxy wouldn’t get between them anymore.

“It would,” Liara agrees. “But then we’d be different people.” She bows her head, and the blue curls of energy fade away. Shepard takes the opportunity to bridge the gap between them, curling a hand around her jaw and kissing her.

“I’m going to Earth. I’ll just be facing politicians, not Reapers. I’ll be fine.”

“If they even think about throwing you in jail, I’m coming over there to break you out,” Liara says.

“And then I’ll become one of your agents and work from the shadows? What about all those little blue children?” Shepard asks.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Liara says. She’s smiling, and it’s genuine this time, but when she goes to kiss Shepard, there is sadness in the way she curls her fingers tightly into Shepard’s shirt.

They settle back onto the bed and Shepard detaches Liara’s fingers so that she can pull her shirt off over her head. She undresses completely and then kisses Liara again, slow and unhurried. Tomorrow morning, Shepard would have to answer Earth’s call, but tonight the galaxy would wait for them.

Shepard undresses Liara slowly, kissing every bit of skin as it’s uncovered.

“Did you forget how clothes work, Shepard?” Liara asks, slightly breathless, when Shepard begins to take too long.

“Shh, you love it,” Shepard says. And when she finally removes Liara’s pants and plants a kiss on her inner thigh, Liara makes a sound that can definitely be counted as agreement.

Finally done divesting Liara of all her clothing, Shepard kneels between Liara’s legs on the bed and takes a moment to be pleased with herself at how utterly gone she looks already. Her skin is flushed a dark, lovely blue and her thighs quiver with want.

Liara swears at her in what might be the yahg language, from the way Shepard’s translator shorts out. Shepard gathers the meaning of it well enough though. With a grin, she buries her head between Liara’s thighs and eats her out so slowly that Liara’s biotics make the glass in the windows rattle.

-

In the morning, she and Liara don’t talk much. They said all of their goodbyes last night. Shepard eats a quick, light breakfast. Liara sits across from her on the table and speaks to one of her agents. Even without the voice distortion software, Liara sounds cold and commanding. A general speaking to her troops.

They meet Dr. Chakwas on the docks. Joker had opted to stay behind with the Normandy and EDI. Shepard is glad the ship is in good hands, but she also wishes that he was here with her for this. Dr. Chakwas must know how she feels because she offers a reassuring smile, one that Shepard does her best to return.

Some of her crew are there to see her off. Tali hugs her tightly, making soft choked noises behind her mask. Garrus’ goodbye is stiff, and she knows that he’s angry that she’s being carted back to Earth like this. But he claps her on her shoulder and tells her to keep her chin up.

Liara walks her and Dr. Chakwas to the merchant ship. Chakwas goes inside first, leaving Shepard with Liara. Once they’re alone, Liara takes Shepard’s hands, runs her thumbs over the new scars there. Shepard shifts her weight from foot to foot, unsure of what to say. Behind them, the hum of engines from the merchant ship reminds her that they don’t have much time left.

“Send me messages this time, Liara. Don’t just check up on me through your network,” Shepard tells her.

Liara has the grace to look sheepish. Her instinct has always been to look things up first and ask later. But this time, Shepard needs her to stay in touch. She’ll go mad otherwise. “I will,” she promises.

They run out of time. Liara kisses Shepard on her forehead, her eyes shining with tears. Shepard gives her a smile that she knows is too tight, and walks onto the ship. They detach from Nos Astra’s docks and leave Illium’s gravity. The planet grows smaller until it’s just another bright dot in a huge galaxy.


End file.
